Readers will recall that that report relied on stories written by Najib man Peter Kamaruddin aka RPK.

The current Felda land “scandal” seems to be yet another attempt to undermine Najib by his own team, this time by none other than “Lim Sian See”. Lim’s “investigation” led to a story in the UMNO controlled Berita Harian,and consequently what has become a full blown “scandal”.

However ,Najib loyalist Rocky Atan has been at pains to point out that there is no scandal, that nothing has been lost,despite “Lim Sian See’s” claims.

Reproduced below is Rocky’s defense of the deal, and the most important bit is that photo of the ON-GOING development ,at the end of his stories.An enlarged copy of the photo has been reproduced above,and enlarged.As readers can see for themselves in the bottom left of the photo, the project is a joint venture between the developer, Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd,and Felda Investment Corporation.

That fact has been made painfully obvious, so it is hard to see how anyone could literally steal Felda and Government land, as “Sian See” suggests.

As the New Straits Times itself has reported, the real estate in question was sold into the JV at a value of RM 270 million. Some insist that the land is worth closer to a billion , but bear in mind that this is a JV,and Felda continues to have rights over the value of the project. Those rights are independent of any ownership of the land.Anyone can understand that ,so Najib needs to ask himself why his own team is putting him in a position where he has to justify a normal commercial deal.

TWO CABINET ministers have spoken out on the Felda’s Jalan Semarak land issue in support of the Prime Minister’s press statement last Thursday. Hishammuddin Hussein said we should let the investigation proceed as we don’t want too see anyone get punished in the media and social media (Don’t be quick to judge Felda land issue, Jan 6). Azalina Aziz also downplayed allegations that Felda had “lost” the land. “The land ownership issue is more a business matter.” (Felda land deal just a business matter, Jan 6).

The Minister in the PM’s Department went on to say she believed the issue would not affect the support of Felda voters “because it was brought up by the chairman himself, which means he will find a solution to this problem”.

But with all due respect, the chairman, Shahrir Samad, may have become part of “this problem”. Since the day BH broke the story [“Felda hilang hakmilik tanah Jalan Semarak”], Shahrir himself has been caught many times lamenting the “lost” land. (here, here and here just to link a few) and finding fault with his predecessor Isa Samad and the developer of KLVC, Synergy Promenade (which also owns the land by virtue of a land transfer done by FIC in 2014 when Isa was chairman of Felda as well as FIC).

Will he sing a different tune this afternoon when he meets the Felda staff at a town hall meeting?

If there was going to be a solution to the problem, all parties involved should have sat down together and dealt with it like professionals instead of using the media to sensationalise the issue the way it did. But now, if you ask me, the damage is done. And the biggest victim is Najib Razak himself.

And with the general election right around the corner, you’ve got to wonder what those guys around the PM and behind the so-called Semarak exposé were thinking of …

p.s. And all this while, the developers of Semarak land have not said a single word. Do they even exist?Thursday, January 04, 2018

Ah, Felda did not lose its Samarak land after all!

The following is a press statement issued a while ago by PM Najib Razak on the Semarak scandal, the story that the Najib-friendly Berita Harian broke two weeks ago (Dec 21).

The salient points:Para 7:The PM says report(s) that claimed the Felda land in Semarak had been lost were inaccurate.Para 4&5:The PM had directed Felda on Dec 11, 10 days before the BH broke the story to:(a) determine if there was abuse of power or/and corruption in the procedures for KL Vertical City, the ongoing project on the Felda Semarak land and(b) lodge a police report

. The MACC has ruled OUT any element of corruption in the deal between FIC and Synergy Promenade (No elements of graft in Felda land transfer, says MACC – Dec 21) so we are looking at other “elements”, if anything at all. Refer to Para 8: IF the audit firm and the police find any form of misappropriation, the Government will take legal action.